The safe and effective use of handheld tools such as knives requires a firm grip and precise control, and the ability to control the motion of a knife has a direct effect upon its safety and usefulness. Control and precision are especially important when using a knife or other sharp tool in an environment where a risk of injury is present, such as when used by chefs and others in the culinary arts.
Handle designs for knives have evolved over the years to provide the user with improved control. Features such as finger grips and curved handle shapes have improved the grip of various types of knives. Many knives, for example, include a bolster or guard at the end of the handle, next to the blade, to prevent the user's hand from slipping onto the blade during use. Other knife designs include a small platform on the top of the bolster or spine of the knife for placing the user's forefinger, which enables the user to apply a greater downward cutting force. Such platforms, however, assist the user only when pressing the knife in the downward direction. Additionally, the forefinger typically needs to stretch to its full extension in order to rest on the platform, which may cause stress to the joints with extended use.
Advanced cutting techniques have also evolved in order to improve the utility and safety of knives. For example, because many tasks in the culinary arts require precise control of a handheld tool, chefs sometimes pinch the back edge of a knife blade with their thumbs and forefingers when chopping or dicing foods. In doing so, the user places the thumb and forefinger on the back edge of the knife blade while continuing to rest the palm and remaining three fingers on the handle. However, gripping the back edge of a knife can cause discomfort for some users, even causing blisters or sores on the side of the forefinger that is pressed against back edge of the knife. Also, because the blade is flat and provides no support or grip, the fingers can easily slip, especially when wet or oily from food preparation, thus reducing control and potentially causing injury.
Knives have been modified in the past to improve the user's grip on the blade. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,302,760, entitled FOLDING KNIFE WITH DUAL-ACTION PISTON, describes a folding knife that has small notches near the base of the blade as well as a thumb tick with finger serrations on the spine of the blade to assist a user in opening and closing the knife. However, the sole purpose of these features is to assist the user with the minor movements of pinching the knife blade and extending or closing the folding knife blade, not for gripping the knife during use. Due to the small structure of the folding knife, the notches and thumb tick are designed to be gripped by a user's fingertips only, and these features are not suitable for extended use or for more strenuous use, such as when the user is chopping or dicing foods.
Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 201573219, entitled GRIP-HOLE TYPE DAILY KNIFE, describes a knife that has several holes near the base of the blade through which the user's fingers may be inserted to help grip the knife. However, inserting fingers through the knife blade to grip the knife itself can cause discomfort for some users, even causing blisters or sores on the parts of the fingers that are pressed against narrow internal edge of the knife.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0170184, entitled CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A HANDHELD TOOL, describes a control knob disposed on the back edge of the knife shaft or blade, and spaced apart from the handle, to create a finger gap, and describes methods including grasping the control knob and/or grasping the finger gap while loosely cradling the tool handle. However, the control knob may be inadequate to accurately control the motion of the knife during hasty food preparation because the fingers can slip off the ball just as easily as slipping off the blade of the knife. In addition, the control knob may get separated from the knife and lost, thus rendering its advantages useless.
U.S. Pat. No. 673,506, entitled GRIPPING HANDLE FOR TOOLS, describes a removable molded attachment to be disposed on the back edge or spine of a knife, which may be firmly grasped in the hand and against which a considerable amount of pressure may be exerted without tiring the fingers of the operator. The attachment may be hollowed out on one side to receive the user's thumb and may have a projection on the other side about which the user's forefinger may be bent during gripping by the user. However, this attachment may negatively impact the utility of the tool by interfering with space constraints, and colliding with large food items during a slicing and/or cutting motion. In addition, the attachment may get separated from the knife and lost, thus rendering its advantages useless. Moreover, when using this attachment, the user's forefinger proximal phalanx (e.g., the part of the forefinger closest to the palm/back of the hand) abuts an edge at the knife's spine, which may cause blisters or sores to form. Thus, the attachment described does not account for the placement of the user's forefinger proximal phalanx.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 490,577, entitled POT SCRAPER, describes a pot scraper whose upper portion is thickened and has prongs projecting therefrom whose adjacent edges are beveled so that the user's forefinger and middle finger may be extended with ease between the prongs, thus giving the user a very secure hold on the scraper. However, the prongs jut out from the surface of the pot scraper and may negatively impact the utility of the tool. In addition, the prongs may make holding the scraper uncomfortable during use because the user's fingers constantly butt up against the prongs, which are designed not to comfortably hold the fingers but rather to maintain their position. Furthermore, this patent describes a three (3) finger grip for force, not a two (2) finger grip for control. Moreover, the grip described in this patent does not account for the placement of, or provide support for, the user's forefinger proximal phalanx.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D22,439, entitled TABLE KNIFE, illustrates a configuration for a table knife having a blade edge and a blade spine, wherein the blade spine includes a broadened and concave portion for the tip of a user's forefinger. However, this configuration does not include components that may facilitate a user gripping the knife blade with both thumb and forefinger on both faces of the knife's blade, and only contemplates placement of the tip of the user's forefinger, as opposed to the proximal phalanx, to aid the user in exerting a downward force on the knife blade.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 492,409, entitled KNIFE, describes a finger support, rest, or guard for knives, including a padded clip that is bent into a shape so as to clip onto the spine of a knife. The top and inside surfaces of the clip include cushions of a soft material, and the user's finger rests upon the flat top of the clip. However, the clip does not include components that may facilitate a user gripping the knife blade with both thumb and forefinger on both faces of the knife's blade, and only contemplates placement of the user's forefinger, as opposed to the proximal phalanx, to aid the user in exerting a downward force on the knife blade. Moreover, the clip is an attachment that is manufactured separately from the knife and may get separated from the knife and lost, thus rendering its advantages useless.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 1,750,577, entitled KNIFE ATTACHMENT, describes a knife attachment having a spring clip for embracing the sides of the knife blade about the spine. The attachment includes spaced parallel jaws, oppositely outturned at their upper ends and formed lengthwise of the blade as a concaved surface, and further including along the top a central transversely convexed ridge, against the top face of which pressure is applied by the user's finger and which provides a longitudinally extending abutment that serves as a gripping surface for the finger. This attachment allows the forefinger's proximal phalanx to rest on the spine of the blade in a manner perpendicular to the blade but does not allow the forefinger to engage the face of the blade, thereby creating an awkward grip. Furthermore, the attachment is manufactured separately from the knife and may get separated from the knife and lost, thus rendering its advantages useless.
Accordingly, there is an unsatisfied need in the art for greater safety and greater control of a handheld knife beyond what is provided by the grips currently available in the art. Precision and speedy culinary tasks require a knife grip that facilitates a positive grip, clear visibility of the cutting region, significant leverage, no obstructions and greater control in all directions. It is desirable to achieve such goals with a knife grip formed as part of the knife which enables the user to comfortably hold the knife in a preferred manner when chopping or dicing foods, namely by pinching the back edge of the blade with the thumb and forefinger while resting the palm on the handle. None of the knife grip designs currently in the art meet these needs.
Thus, there is a need for a control system, or grip, for a handheld knife that provides a positive grip for safety, improved visibility of the cutting region, greater leverage for cutting power, and precise control in all directions. Such a control system would be useful for a variety of devices and handheld tools including utility and culinary knives.